


For I May Never See You Again

by MissWeasley



Category: Glee
Genre: Fourth of July, Life guard, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-04
Updated: 2012-03-20
Packaged: 2017-11-01 03:37:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissWeasley/pseuds/MissWeasley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a 10-year anniversary gift Finn gives Burt and Carole a 4th of July vacation in Southern California. Kurt is reluctant to go, but joins nonetheless. And he doesn't regret it, because he meets Blaine Anderson, surfer and life guard, and even less when he needs someone to save his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by an incredible amount of pictures on tumblr, showing outtakes of the "Sexiest Man Alive" shooting.

“I don't get it, Finn. Why Huntington Beach?”

It is the weekend before the Fourth of July and Kurt would be happy to be at home. Home as in Lima, Ohio. He had just called Finn to ask him if he could pick him up at the airport, so that it would be a surprise for his dad, but it seemed like Finn had different plans.

“Because it's special, Kurt. And I thought Burt and mom deserve something special for their ten year anniversary.”

“But...”

Finn doesn't let him finish. “I know, I've never been the attentive type and more often than not I've been rather oblivious. But Stacy told me that it would be nice to get them something. After all they did for us.”

Kurt sighs. Of course, Stacy. She is Finn's wife and Burt and Carole as good as adopted her as soon as they met her. Kurt likes her, too, but he wouldn't admit it in front of Rachel, because that would be his death sentence.

“Alright, alright, I'll see how soon I can book a flight to LA.”

He hears Finn whoop at the other end and holds his cell phone a bit further away.

“Awesome, dude! I already have a single room booked for you and Burt and mom will be so happy to see you again! It's been too long since Christmas and -”

He blanks out a bit and wonders whether he can get sunscreen with SPF 100 here or if he better buy it in California. And he hasn't even got swim shorts, he needs to buy those, too. And while his brother rants on about how “absolutely awesome” it will be, all of them together in California, he makes a shopping list in his head. At some point he manages to bid Finn goodbye and gets him to say hi to Stacy before he hangs up.

 

Four days later he boards the flight to Los Angeles. He hates long distance flights, he hates the food they serve and more of all, he wasn't lucky enough to get a seat outside economy class, so he's squished between an old woman and a rather hairy man. The old woman, he learns that her name is Roberta, is visiting her daughter and grandchildren in San Bernardino and it's her first flight in over fifteen years. The plane is pulled out of the parking position and onto the runway, the engines start roaring, the airplane accelerates and all the while Roberta talks and talks and talks. As the seat belt signs are turned off, Kurt excuses himself and asks the hairy man if he could please get up, so he can go to the restroom. When he's back, Roberta talks to the woman sitting across the aisle from her, they seem to have found a common topic: grandchildren. Relieved, Kurt gets his iPhone out of his bag that's packed away underneath the seat in front of him and starts listening to music, getting some inspiration for the new fashion show he is putting together.

He never noticed that he dozed off, but suddenly one of the flight attendants shakes him awake and asks him to put his iPhone away and to fasten the seat belt again. And then they are landing, touching ground, standing again. While he waits to get out of the plane, Kurt really looks forward to getting his rental car and driving down the 101 to Huntington Beach. Nothing can be worse than a flight to Los Angeles shortly before the Fourth of July.

 

But Kurt is wrong. So very wrong. Traffic in Los Angeles and around Los Angeles is worse. The stupid GPS lead him onto the 405 and it's rush hour. It took him almost an hour to get to Carson and there are still roughly twenty-five miles ahead of him. Just when he wonders if he should take the 110 south, his iPhone rings and he puts it on speaker.

“Kurt? Dude, where are you?”

It's Finn and he doesn't sound happy.

“Hello to you too, Finn. I'm stuck on the four-oh-five around Carson.”

Finn sighs.

“You know, we wanted to go out to the beach and -”

“It's okay, you can go. I have no idea when this hell of traffic gets better. I'll call you when I'm closer, okay?”

“You sure that it's okay?”

“Yes, Finn, it is okay.”

“Uhm, alright, then. See you soon!”

“See you, Finn.”

And then it's only Kurt and the traffic and the radio again. He wonders if he can still leave the freeway, but somehow during the oh so short talk with Finn he missed the intersection and is stuck for another five to ten miles in what seems more like parking than actual driving.

 

When Kurt finally, finally drives down the Pacific Coast Highway and enters Huntington Beach he has to admit that it isn't as bad as he feared.

“Well, at least one part of this whole, stupid holiday has to be good,” he mutters to himself. On his right side are the beach and the Pacific Ocean: a small strip of white and an endless stretch of blue. On his left are houses, shops, restaurants and hotels.

As he looks for Fifth Street that has to be somewhere to his left, he wonders how it will be when people come here for the fireworks and partying and drinking. Right now the streets and the beach are considerably empty, but it's a weekday and early evening, so it will most likely look different. He turns left at Main Street and after two more turns he stops in front of the valet parking of Shorebreak Hotel. Kurt has to admit that Finn, or most likely Stacy, did a really good job on finding the hotel. He tips the boy who gives him the chip to retrieve his car later on and enters the hotel, desperate for a shower, desperate for something to eat and desperate to see his family.

 

He had stopped by Finn's and Stacy's room late last night, about to go to his dad's and Carole's room, too, but he was convinced otherwise.

“Wouldn't it be a nice surprise if you just turned up for breakfast tomorrow morning?”

Kurt had frowned. “Haven't you told them I'm coming?”

Stacy had shook her head.

“No, we wanted -”

Finn coughed.

“Okay, I wanted it to be a surprise for your parents. They still think you are stuck with your work on that show and you couldn't make time to come.”

Kurt had laughed. “Alright, next morning it is, then.”

Now they are sitting at the breakfast table and Stacy and Carole are trying to convince him to come along to the beach.

“Kurt, please! We can get a spot halfway underneath the pier, so you can have a spot in the shade.” Carole puts her hand over Kurt's and looks intently at him.

Kurt sighs and drinks the last of his coffee.

“Just imagine all those cute guys playing volleyball,” Stacy chimes in. “Who knows, maybe one of those is looking for a fling.” She winks at him.

Finn puts his hands over his ears. “I can't hear you.”

Everyone at the table laughs, except for Finn.

“Okay.” Kurt looks over to where his brother puts his hands down slowly, spearing the last piece of waffle onto his fork. “But only because I can embarrass Finn by flirting with some guys.”

Finn groans, grabs his plate and leaves to get some more waffles.

 

Half an hour later they are on their way to the beach. Which is short, really, and Kurt imagines that he can hear the ocean above the noise the cars are making. The pier is in front of them, stretching out into the ocean, and workers are bustling around, decorating the lantern posts with flags for the upcoming event. A group of young men and women are playing volleyball just next to the pier, screaming, jumping and laughing.

They find a spot that is partially in the shade, the pier above them and the volleyball nets on their right. Kurt takes his shirt off and hands it to Stacy who puts it in one of their combined beach bags. He is about to find a nice spot for his towel when a ball hits him in the back. The ball bounces off and Kurt turns around, to find someone running towards him.

“I'm sorry!” It's a young man, with a gorgeous, tanned body and curly, dark hair. He is wearing board shorts with a blue plaid pattern and he stops in front of Kurt, picking up the ball. “Oh god, I'm really, really sorry. You're not hurt, are you?” He smiles broadly and Kurt has to remind himself to breath again.

“No, not hurt.”

“That's awesome.” His grin becomes even broader as he offers his hand. “I'm Blaine, by the way.”

Kurt shakes it. “Kurt.” He tries to smile, too, but it feels like a mask and no way that his smile can match Blaine's.

“Nice to meet you, Kurt. You know, if you and -” He looks to his right and Kurt follows his gaze.

“My brother Finn and his wife Stacy,” he offers and Blaine nods a greeting.

“Well, if you, your brother and Stacy want to join us, just come over. We don't bite.” He winks at Kurt and Kurt feels himself blush.

“We just arrived, but maybe later.”

“Sure. See you later then.” Blaine turns around. “Lindsey! Has making out with Aaron messed with your aiming abilities?” he screams while running back to his friends.

Kurt can't help himself but stare at Blaine's retreating back, the muscles rippling underneath the skin as he lifts his arms and throws the ball full force at a girl on the other side of the net.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote and finished this almost two weeks ago, but I wanted this chapter to be a "surprise" while I was on vacation. So with the help of my queue on tumblr, it was first available there.

For the next hour Kurt watches the group play while trying hard to take part in the conversation that develops between his dad, Carole, Finn and Stacy. It goes well as long as they talk about the upcoming holiday and what they want to do before – Carole and Stacy want to go shopping and of course Kurt will tag along – but as soon as Burt and Finn start talking about sports, he drifts off. There is Blaine, sure, but all the other guys in the group are good looking, too: the blonde surfer boy with the tribal tattoo on his left arm, the one guy with the light brown hair who looks like he just got out of high school and the two Hispanic boys who look too much alike to not be twins. He barely looks at the girls, only noticing the one Blaine called Lindsey. A beautiful girl, pale despite the Californian sun, with red, curly hair pulled back into a high pony tail.

They are playing a fierce game, five against five, boys and girls mixed. After twenty minutes they switch sides and for a split second Kurt is disappointed, because this means he can't appreciate Blaine's backside any longer. Not that he was looking or anything. But now he can watch Blaine's face as it changes while he plays.

“Like what you see?”

He turns around, seeing his whole family watching him. Stacy grins broadly and his dad has an eyebrow raised.

“W-what?”

“Kurt, sweetie, we all see how you look at him,” Carole says. “You go and have some fun.”

“No, this is a family vacation.” He can't. He just cannot go over to the other group and join them. Although it seems like they are settling down. It even gets warmer as it gets closer to lunch time. “I should stay with you.”

“That's bullshit, Kurt, and you know it.”

Kurt looks at Stacy. She gets up and walks over to Kurt, grabbing his hand.

“Come on, Kurt.”

Kurt looks over to Finn, who shrugs. “I learned quite a while ago not to argue with her, dude.”

Burt starts laughing loudly and at one point manages to say, “Finn, you discovered the secret of a happy marriage,” in between, which makes Carole laugh too.

Stacy doesn't mind them, though, and tugs at Kurt's hand. “Come on, Kurt, they invited us. And we're going.”

Kurt sighs and thinks that Finn is probably right. He lets himself being pulled up by Stacy and she somewhat literally drags him along to a spot about halfway between the pier and the volleyball field.

Blaine sees them coming, gets up and walks towards them.

“So, you are joining us, I see.” He smiles and Kurt wonders briefly if there are ever times when Blaine doesn't smile. It's not that he doesn't mind. Blaine's smile is enchanting, it's one of those smiles that makes you feel better despite everything and one that could light up the whole world. And even though they don't really know each other, the smile reaches Blaine's eyes, making small laugh lines appear and his eyes seem to sparkle, appearing more honey-colored than brown. Kurt feels the completely stupid urge to simply start laughing, but instead he calms himself enough to answer.

“Yes, my dearest sister-in-law -” Kurt starts, but is interrupted by Stacy.

“... wanted to get a little inside-scoop on where to go shopping here and maybe where to watch the fireworks the day after tomorrow.”

Blaine chuckles quietly and beckons them to follow him. When they are standing in the spot Blaine vacated earlier, he introduces them.

“Guys, these are Kurt and Stacy. They are here on vacation from -” Blaine looks at them.

“Ohio.” “New York.” Stacy and Kurt answer at the same time and the group starts laughing.

“Okay, we are both from Ohio, but Kurt lives in New York now,” Stacy explains and settles down next to one of the girls, her legs stretched out in front of her and she buries her toes in the hot sand.

“New York, really?” Another girl looks at him with wide eyes. “How is the Big Apple? Is it easy to find a place to live there? You don't really need a car, do you? And is it difficult to get a role on Broadway?”

“Uhm...” For a moment Kurt doesn't know how to answer. But the blond surfer boy jumps to his rescue.

“Geez, Lex, the boy is not even sitting and you're already dumping your New York fantasies on him.”

“Shane,” Lex whines, “I want to know!”

Shane sighs heavily and closes his eyes.

Blaine tugs at Kurt's shorts and Kurt realizes he is the only one left standing. He sits down between Stacy and Blaine, across from Shane.

A phone rings and Lex rummages in her bag, cutting the music off.

“Okay, I guess we should introduce ourselves, before Lex has to leave for work in,” Blaine pauses and looks at Lex, “half an hour?”

Lex nods.

Shane raises his hand like in school. “I'll start. I'm Shane, I love to surf and I wait tables in a pizza parlor downtown.”

And so they go round. Kurt learns that the boy he thought was just out of high school is actually still in high school and is a junior lifeguard. Then there are Lex, who is also a waitress but wants to make it in New York and the siblings – not twins, since they are two years apart – Carlos and Alejandro who study … something. When they tell, Kurt might be a bit distracted by Blaine stretching like a tired cat next to him. Heather is a model, but “not one of those dreaming about Milan and Paris,” she laughs and Kurt can imagine her in one of his shows. Tash just finished high school and will leave for an au pair job in three weeks.

“I'm Stacy, married to Kurt's brother and a kindergarten teacher,” Stacy says next to Kurt and Kurt jumps slightly. He was so captivated by all their stories, even though they shared only basic information, that he completely forgot that he will be next after Stacy.

“Uhm,” he stammers, before he even knows what he wants to say. Ever since he met Blaine he seems at a loss for words. Which is not a good sign. “I'm Kurt, aspiring fashion designer and I live in New York.” Yes, brilliant, Kurt chides himself and even his inner voice is dripping with sarcasm. But when he looks at Blaine he is, again, rewarded with one of those radiant smiles.

“Hi, my name is Blaine and I'm a lifeguard.”

Kurt blinks, slightly puzzled, but is soon distracted by Blaine's friends who all chime, “Hi Blaine.” It seems to be some kind of inside-joke, because they all start to laugh. Kurt turns to Stacy who simply shrugs. Yes, inside-joke.

Then it's Lindsey's turn. “Hi, my name is Lindsey and I'm a lifeguard.”

Again, there is the chorus among the friends like some kind of weird echo on the beach.

Now that the introduction is done, the friends start talking animatedly. He doesn't really catch whole sentences, just fractures.

“So,” Blaine starts next to him and Kurt turns slightly towards him. “Fashion designer?”

Kurt nods. “It's not really that special, though. I'm preparing a show with some of my own pieces in it and, yeah, that's about it.”

Blaine raises his eyebrow. “Nothing special, huh?”

“No, though I hope it will be, at one point.” He grins and Blaine chuckles.

“You know, if you need a model, I'm sure Heather would be willing to travel.” Blaine winks at him and upon hearing her name, Heather looks up.

“I would what, Blaine?”

“I said that you might be interested in modeling for Kurt. If he wants to have you in one of his shows, that is.” Blaine's gaze wanders back and forth between Heather and Kurt and finally settles on Kurt.

“Well, not in the next one, I'm sorry,” Kurt apologizes. “But I have one design planned that would be perfect for you.”

Heather smiles broadly. “That would be really awesome.” She searches something in her bag and pulls out a business card, scribbling something on its back. “Here, it's my cellphone number, you can call me anytime.”

Kurt takes the card. “Thanks. Mine are in the hotel, though.”

She waves dismissively. “No big deal. You can give me yours later.” And with that she is back in the conversation with Tash and Stacy.

“That's Heather for you.” Blaine grins.

“It's alright. She seems less complicated than most other models I've worked with.”

“Ah, but that's only the surface, Kurt.”

Kurt and Blaine look at each other for a moment, before they burst out laughing.

“So,” Kurt grins, “lifeguard?” He is aware that he chose the same wording Blaine did.

Blaine notices, too. “Not really that special.” He winks at Kurt and Kurt feels himself blush a little. “But, honestly?”

Kurt nods.

“I love my job. I love being close to the water when I work. It's satisfying. Not only the part where you have to rescue people. Sometimes it's only helping them.” Blaine looks a little bit lost in thought, Kurt realizes. “And where else can you watch good looking guys wearing nothing but board shorts.”

And in just that moment a group of young men walk past them, carrying their surfboards and wearing nothing but board shorts. Kurt watches them walking down towards the water and only then realizes what Blaine said.

“You're gay.” It's not a question. Because why would Blaine watch the guys instead of the girls – there are enough good looking girls, this is California after all – if he wasn't gay.

Blaine looks at him. “Do you have a problem with that?” He sounds a bit challenging, a bit defensive.

“What? Why would I have a problem with that?”

Blaine shrugs. “I don't know. I mean, there are a lot of people out there who have and your girlfriend is probably one of those good looking models back in New York and -”

“Blaine,” Kurt interrupts him, “I'm studying fashion design. In New York. Sometimes I think it could only be more obvious if I had 'gay' tattooed across my forehead or something like that.”

“Oh.”

Suddenly Blaine is silent and Kurt doesn't really want to interrupt him. But then they are interrupted. At first, because Lex has to leave for work and takes five minutes to say goodbye to Kurt, even though Kurt wouldn't call it goodbye, but rather an interview. Then, mere moments after Lex left, Burt, Finn and Carole are walking towards them, with all their bags already packed up and Kurt can see Finn carrying Kurt's shoes.

“We hate to interrupt you. You seem to have a really good time,” Carole says, “but we want to go back to the hotel, get the sand off and then find somewhere to have lunch.”

“Together,” Burt adds.

Stacy already gets up, saying her goodbyes to the group.

When Kurt moves, Blaine grabs his hand and holds him back. “Wait. Would you like to join us tonight? We are having something like a pre-Fourth of July barbecue at our place and ...” He shrugs. “It would be nice,” he adds a bit lamely.

“I'm not sure, this is a family vacation after all.” Kurt looks at his father who shrugs.

“You are old enough, kiddo.”

Kurt is about to say something to Blaine, when his father adds, “and you will be spending the Fourth with us, right?”

“Of course, dad. That's why I joined you in the first place.”

Burt smiles. “Then you can go.”

“Thanks dad.” Kurt rolls his eyes. Sometimes his father acts like he is still sixteen. And sometimes, or rather right now, he still feels like sixteen. “I'd like to come, then,” he says to Blaine.

“Awesome!” Blaine hands him his phone. “If you save your number, I can text you the address and how to get there.”

Kurt taps it in and saves it under his name, handing Blaine his phone back and getting up. “I'll see you tonight then.” He waves at the others and looks at Blaine. “Thanks.”

Blaine just smiles. “See you later, Kurt.”

Five minutes later his phone vibrates in his pocket with a new text from an unknown number.

“2052 Sand Dune Lane, be there by 7. It was really nice meeting you. xo Blaine”

Kurt smiles and puts his cell back into his pocket. He really is looking forward to seeing Blaine again tonight.


End file.
